Robert P. McCulloch created Lake Havasu, by some small miracle, to build a city in a small piece of Arizona desert. The miracle is that he was able to do this without any major highway winding its way through the would-be city. There was no road connecting this area to the rest of the country. Not only was he able to do this but also he was also able to transport the historic London Bridge almost halfway around the globe and reconstruct it in the Arizona desert.

McCulloch found the site for Lake Havasu when he flew over the area in search of a location to test the outboard boat motors he manufactured. Lake Havasu was created with the construction of Parker Dam in the 1930's. Until this dam was built, what is now Lake Havasu was a remote section of the Colorado River that wound its way through the rough terrain.

However, McCulloch was not the first person to ever venture into this area that is now Lake Havasu. In the early 1800's mountain men made their way along that section of the river. They made their livelihood at trapping beavers in the streams and rivers in the area. However, the mountain men were forced out of the area in by the 1830's by the Mohave Indians.

The Spanish also found their way in the Lake Havasu region by mining up and down the river in the nearby mountains. Other prospectors followed them. Mining camps began to spring up all along the rivers in this area. These miners discouraged people from settling the area saying that the terrain was too rough and uninhabitable.

With the construction of Parker's Dam in the mid 1930's we see the appearance of small villages and communities in the Lake Havasu area. However, floods that caused the shoreline to widen destroyed most if not all villages and communities.

When McCulloch first discovered Lake Havasu, the military had already abandoned the area, and the fisherman had reclaimed the area and the waters. Through shear determination Robert P. McCulloch transported pieces of the London Bridge to Lake Havasu and created a beautiful place for residents and tourists alike.